Interactive: Meet your Canadian guides to the U.S. election
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In a year when Americans must choose between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, The Globe and Mail reached out to Canadians living across the U.S. to offer a unique perspective on a pivotal election. Our expat group of 50 Canadians – chosen from hundreds of submissions to offer a wide range of perspectives – answered your questions, offered up their insights through blog posts and joined in online discussions during the presidential debates. Their personal stories and perspectives may well challenge your assumptions about American society and politics. Below is a flavour of just some of people involved in the Election 2012: Canadians in America series.

Sherry Halfyard

Business consultant – Democrat

Getting used to Arizona’s gun laws took some time.

“You can carry a concealed and unconcealed weapon – and just be cruising around and going to the supermarket,” explains Sherry Halfyard, 52, who moved to Tempe, Ariz., 18 months ago from Vancouver after meeting her partner at a 30th-anniversary graduation party.

Adjusting to American life has also extended to politics. Ms. Halfyard supports President Barack Obama in a state that went Republican in 2008 and where anti-Obama sentiment runs strong and deep. But she is learning to suspend her values, listen and be open.

The nuances of American society, she says, continue to surprise and her assumptions are regularly upended. A dinner party she and her partner were invited to by Republican friends was also attended by a gay couple who were close friends of the hosts.

“And I’m going: ‘Oh, okay, well this doesn’t make much sense to me,’” she recalls. “And that part is very refreshing and inspiring.” she says, adding that such moments make her optimistic about the future of the United States.

From Vancouver, B.C.

Living in Arizona

Jonathan Havercroft

Political science professor – Democrat

A love of the game inspired Jonathan Havercroft to start a curling club in Oklahoma, the hardcore Republican state just north of Texas. One thing he learned is that sports can unite, even where politics divides.

"One of the great things is that politics isn't everything," Mr. Havercroft, 36, says. "There are a lot of other ways we can build connections and ties in life. Perhaps we aren't going to agree on our politics, but perhaps we like curling, or we root for the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Oklahoma Sooners football team."

As a Democrat in a solidly red state, he's a rare breed.

"In Oklahoma, I think [Senator John] McCain won every single county [in 2008], and he won some counties 90 to 10," he says. The first-time voter says he's aware his vote is somewhat futile in the southern oil and gas state that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would run through.

The greatest misconception Canadians have of U.S. politics is that they mistake the noise for the substance, he argues. The United States is rich in its diversity – just compare the politics of Oklahoma to New York City or San Francisco.

"The political process is really one of aggregating these political differences and tensions. So it's a very loud kind of process that ends up leading to a relatively centrist kind of outcome," he explains.

From Montreal, Que.

Living in Oklahoma

Chloe Wolman

Lawyer – Democrat

When Chloe Wolman, 28, joined the Globe’s expats project, she worked as a lawyer with a Beverly Hills law firm. Shortly after, she lost her job.

Few things focus what’s at stake in the U.S. presidential election than what this recent law school graduate, who has $100,000 in student debt, experienced.

“My parents are recovering now from their own stretches of time out of work and so there is nothing else for me. No safety net, no assistance, no assurances. The debt is dischargeable only if I die,” she said in an online article after joining the ranks of America’s 13 million jobless.

Her story resonated with our Globe audience. We followed up with her over the summer during her job search. She explained how important it was to share her story.

“This is something that’s happening to millions of people, and the more people you can say, “Hey I need a job, I need help, I need advice,” the more likely you’ll find somebody who can actually lead you to something. It was scary and it was exposing, but I’m glad I did it,” she told the Globe and Mail in a video.

After a lot of hard work and persistence, Chloe Wolman found a job at the end of August.

From Toronto, Ont.

Living in California

Jenny Zhang

Advertising professional – Democrat

Jenny Zhang, 23, moved to the United States to seek change and opportunity, after 11 years in Canada that included studying business at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.

"I really appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit I find in the United States," explains the Barack Obama supporter from Greenville, N.C., where she works in the advertising industry.

It is a sentiment shared by her Canadian friends looking to kick-start new business ventures.

"I've seen a lot of my friends in Toronto have these really great opportunities in Toronto but then need to go to New York to pursue the funding they need or get the contacts," she explains. Along with New York, Silicon Valley, and Seattle, North Carolina's hub of high-tech research and development – known as the Research Triangle – is another destination.

The rise of China will be a theme on the campaign trail. Chinese-born Ms. Zhang says America has nothing to fear.

"It's not a case where China is this monster that wants to overtake the United States and swallow it up. They just want their citizens to have the same quality of life as people in the global west enjoy," she explains.

North Carolina is a battleground state that Mr. Obama narrowly won in 2008. It will be tough to win again.

From Ottawa & Toronto

Living in N. Carolina

Meredith Miller

Public relations professional – Republican

For Meredith Miller, the benefits of the Keystone XL pipeline – whose approval the Obama administration postponed until after the 2012 presidential election – are pretty obvious.

"I see the issue as a wonderful source of jobs for both Canadians and Americans at a time when we really need them," explains the former communications strategist who worked for several years in Washington D.C. advising businesses on legislative issues. Those years included work on the Keystone XL file.

She looks to Mitt Romney now to get the project rolling – a promise he has made for day one of his presidency, if elected.

"I think he has the best background for what the country needs right now," explains the communications director for a Pittsburgh non-profit that promotes lung health.

"I think he's a strong businessman and he understands spending and the economy and what's needed to get this country back on track," she adds.

Ms. Miller, 30, initially moved south with her American husband in 2008, and while he will be voting Republican this November, Ms. Miller can't yet vote. "I'm in a waiting period. They make you wait three years after you've been a green card holder to actually go for citizenship."

Ms. Miller says she will have to consider the tax implications before taking the step to citizenship and being a dual national.

From Toronto, Ont.

Living in Pennsylvania

Dennis Sifton

Physician – Republican

"[Barack Obama] is a cool guy. I like him," says Dennis Sifton, a 69-year-old physician. "I just disagree with his policies."

The disagreement runs so deep that if Mr. Obama is re-elected, Mr. Sifton and his wife would consider renouncing their U.S. citizenship and returning to Canada.

"I think you'll see the real President Obama unfold as a pure socialist – if he does get a second term." Higher taxes are not the way for those who have done well financially, Mr. Sifton argues, in a country where the wealthy are increasingly seen as the problem. It was high taxes and a "dysfunctional" medical system that drove him away from Southwestern Ontario in the 1990s.

Mr. Sifton, who offers free clinics to those who do not have health coverage, fears the debt burden of the President's signature healthcare law. Among other things, Obamacare requires all Americans to purchase health-care insurance beginning in 2014.

According to Mr. Sifton, Mitt Romney will encourage economic growth and fiscal responsibility. And this time – unlike in 2008 when she voted for President Obama – his wife will also be voting Republican in the hotly contested battleground state of Virginia.

From St. Thomas, Ont.

Living in Virginia

Keith Vincent

Student – Republican

Last year, tornadoes tore through Keith Vincent's town of Cleveland, Tenn., killing nine and destroying hundreds of homes.

"Things can look pretty bad in a situation like that," Mr. Vincent, 30, says. "[But] the community rallied together, churches and community groups helped. And now, you go through these neighbourhoods, and for the most part you wouldn't know anything had really happened."

It's that faith in collective power that makes him sure Americans will recover from anything.

"The economy is bad? Well, the economy's been bad before," he says. "Americans have always figured out a way to support each other and always rebound after a recession."

Mr. Vincent, a registered Republican, says he supports Mitt Romney because he has the business experience to run the country like a CEO.

That's important in a country with a political system very different from Canada's Parliament.

"The President is not a congressman. He's viewed as a chief executive, instead of a peer among MPs like in the House of Commons," he says.

Mr. Vincent first came to the United States to attend Bible college in Ohio, where he met his wife. The two moved to Tennessee in 2008, and are now headed to Florida.

Tennessee has voted increasingly Republican since supporting Bill Clinton twice, but Florida will be one of 2012's true battleground states.

From Newfoundland.

Living in Florida

Carla Swanson

Mother – Republican

In Saskatoon, a fairly new three-bedroom house could run you $500,000. Southeast, in Big Lake, Minn., it'll cost you less than $200,000.

Carla Swanson lives in the suburbs just outside Minneapolis, but her family is still in Saskatchewan.

"It's like two different worlds right now," she says. "If you were moving from the U.S. to Canada, it would be really tough to afford it."

Ms. Swanson says the value of her own house has dropped dramatically in just a few years, after the U.S. real-estate bubble popped.

Dropping house prices have caused many of her neighbours to lose substantial amounts of money and move away. The overgrown lawns down the street tell the tale of the abandoned, foreclosed houses.

Her daughter just graduated from a charter school – a small, specialized high school that focused on preparing its students for post-secondary education.

The 18-year-old is now headed to a local community college with most of her friends, so she can live at home and avoid big student debt. Ms. Swanson said her daughter is looking at health-care for good employment opportunities.

She hopes the economy will have improved by the time her 15-year-old son is ready to look for work.

"I'm really hoping that at the time he graduates, the job market is more rosy."

From Saskatoon, Sask.

Living in Minnesota

Stefan Neata

Wall Street investment banker – Independent

Stefan Neata has a front-row seat to the drama of the Occupy Wall Street anti-capitalist movement. The 29-year-old is a New York investment banker who started just as the recession began.

"People forget that in 2008 when [President Barack Obama] came aboard the economy was on a precipice. It was a disaster," Mr. Neata says.

"I came to work on Wall Street that fall and everything was falling apart. [Mr. Obama] came in – and I don't think he's always made the right decisions, he's made mistakes along the way – but the fact that we are where we are today, versus where we were in January of 2009, I think you have to reward that."

Mr. Neata says, despite perceptions, it's "trendy" to be a Democrat on Wall Street. But bankers do feel sympathy for Republican Mitt Romney when he is attacked for his wealth and experience in private equity.

Democrats and the Occupy-movement protesters blame the financial industry for a lot of the economic woes in the United States. There may be some truth to that, Mr. Neata says, in the damaging way that some big investment banks behaved before and during the financial crisis – but the whole industry shouldn't be lumped together.

"Obama has been guilty of using the financial community as a scapegoat. ... [though] I don't blame him."

From Toronto, Ont.

Living in New York

Colleen Pendergast

Self-employed and former teacher – Independent

When Colleen Pendergast was a teacher, she had health insurance through her job. Now that she's self-employed, she pays about $500 per month for coverage. And she has no choice.

She lives in Massachusetts, the state whose mandatory health insurance was the model for Barack Obama's national health-care reform. The state's law was passed while Republican Mitt Romney was governor.

How do her neighbours, who live not far from posh Martha's Vineyard, remember Mr. Romney?

The health-insurance mandate in particular isn't very popular in her area, where people pay a big annual tax penalty if they haven't bought themselves insurance. (A far cry from Canada's province-funded universal coverage.)

Ms. Pendergast, 42, is starting her own business and admits that one reason she's daunted by hiring employees is that she'd have to pay for some of their coverage.

She has long been familiar with Mr. Romney. Before moving to Massachusetts, she and her husband lived in Utah when Mr. Romney ran the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.

"What he did during the Olympics was incredible," Ms. Pendergast says, overcoming the stain of a corruption scandal before he took over.

From Edmonton, Alta.

Living in Massachusetts

Jason Sidhu

Tech sector manager – Independent

For Jason Sidhu, looking out from his Silicon Valley vantage in California, the future is bright in the land of venture capital, start-ups and innovation.

"I think it's a great place if you have an idea and you want to work hard," explains the 41-year-old employee with San Jose-based Cisco.

The dark clouds: The lack of investment in education, research and development.

"I don't have any kids right now – but once I do, I'm fearful of putting them into the American education system," he says with a chuckle.

The pull to return home to Vancouver – the city his grandfather immigrated to from India in 1906 – is there. If only the opportunities were also there, he explains.

Mr. Sidhu has voted Republican in governor, state and local elections. This November, he will vote for Barack Obama.

"Everybody I talk to in Canada – all my friends, relatives – they say the same thing: 'How could he lose?' I don't think they realize that the election is going to come down to a few states where all the advertising and money is being put into," he explains. Florida, the state where he lived for 10 years before moving to Silicon Valley four years ago, will be one of those key battleground states.

From Vancouver, B.C.

Living in California

Penny Stamp

Graphic artist – Independent

For Penny Stamp, the Great Recession in the U.S. has meant watching the value of her home get battered to the point that it is now worth less than half of what she bought it for before the housing crisis. But it has not shaken this Canadian’s faith in the American dream.

"I think that the U.S. is a really good place to live. The American dream may have to be altered, but it still exists in many of the Americans I know," says the Orlando graphic artist and mother of a little boy.

Ms. Stamp, 38, also has a dream for American politics – a three-party system similar to Canada's.

A viable third-party presidential candidate may yet emerge in 2012. Ideally, it will be a libertarian, says the registered Libertarian party member.

"I really believe that what the U.S. will benefit from is a lot less government and a lot less laws," she argues. "Not that we want to become a lawless society," she quickly adds. Government getting involved in issues of marriage, pregnancy and breastfeeding and what constitutes a family is something she cannot accept.

Come voting day, Ms. Stamp says she may have to choose between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama – if there is no alternative. Right now, she leans to Mr. Obama, whom she voted for in 2008. But that could change, she says. "I'm going to keep my mind open until the very last minute."

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